Microsoft boss says AI should be about using your time more effectively

Speaking at the DLD conference in Munich, Germany, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said his company aims to democratize artificial intelligence technology. He defended workers and said Microsoft and its rivals should avoid AI systems that replace human workers. Instead of hurting the dignity of its workers, Nadella said companies should focus on systems that help employees to maximize their time:

"The fundamental need of every person is to be able to use their time more effectively, not to say, ‘let us replace you’," Nadella said in an interview at the DLD conference in Munich. "This year and the next will be the key to democratizing AI. The most exciting thing to me is not just our own promise of AI as exhibited by these products, but to take that capability and put it in the hands of every developer and every organization."

Nadella is pushing Microsoft into consumer and industrial applications of software that can make inferences about its environment. He cautioned his own company and competitors about "parlor tricks" that show AI’s power without preserving workers’ dignity.